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How To Mow Long or Wet Grass

Tips To Help With Long, Wet Grass.

I get asked this question a lot whilst treating lawns in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and South Cambridge. Mowing in the winter can be a tricky. looking out on the lawn on a drab day, your probably thinking that the lawn is to wet or the lawn is to long, or even its to cold. Hopefully these tips from our Friends at Etesia can help with your thoughts.

Tip one – Mow More Often

If your typical mowing interval is every seven days, reduce that to five days or even less. This prevents the grass from getting too long. Tall grass is more difficult to cut, and tall, wet grass is even worse.

Tip two – Raise the Mower Deck

Mowing height is a compromise between getting the superb looking lawn you want and allowing the grass enough leaf to be healthy. This means you can mow your lawn close but only when optimum conditions prevail; warmth, moderate sunshine, moderate rainfall and adequate fertiliser. This is also when the grass is healthiest and able to recover easily from regular low cutting. When it is wet and you still need to mow, raise the cutting height of the mower to at least two settings above what you would normally have the mower set at.

Make sure that you take your time and reduce your cutting speed to reduce the load on the mower blade and empty the grass box mower often – wet grass weighs more than dry grass after all and you don’t want to be pushing unwanted weight!

Tip three – Sharpen Your Mower Blades

A sharp blade produces a crisp cut, and this keeps the grass healthy. It’s particularly important during damp or wet mowing conditions, when the blade will have a tendency to shred rather than cut.

Tip Four – When All Else Fails, Rear-Discharge

If weather conditions are really bad. Set the mower to the highest setting, remove the grass box, and mow. This leaves rows of clippings on the lawn, of course. You can cross-mow (mow at 90 degrees to the first mow) then you can rake them up, or you can let them dry for a couple of days and mow again, collecting with the box on.

Tip five – Clean After You Mow

Damp grass clippings cling to the underside of a mower deck and form a soggy layer that quickly turns into a mouldy mess. If your mower has a washout port, then by all means use it to clean the deck. But even after you’re done, scrape the deck clean with a putty knife, being particularly careful to clean the lip where the deck edge curls under. Also, clean the mower’s tires / wheels with a wire brush. Finally, wipe down the top of the mower to remove wet clippings, and if required, give a light coating of a lubricant such as WD 40 to avoid and rusting.

Thanks again for Etesia UK for letting me share this with you. if your looking at new mowers or more cutting advice please take a look at their web site. http://www.etesia.co.uk/